[ad_1]
Officers opened fire Thursday evening at a vehicle backing into a line of police outside the U.S. Coast Guard base in Alameda, site of a day-long protest against what was originally planned as an immigration enforcement surge in the San Francisco Bay Area.
It was unclear if anyone was hurt or detained in the incident.
A KPIX crew at the scene showed a U-Haul truck reversing toward the base entrance when law enforcement fired their weapons at the vehicle.
Witnesses said the truck struck two bystanders and then fled.
This is a breaking news update. Original story follows below.
Protesters gathered outside the entrance to Coast Guard Base Alameda Thursday ahead of an anticipated surge in President Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown in the San Francisco Bay Area.
After an initial turnout early Thursday morning with protesters attempting to block vehicles going through the base gates, the gathering turned into a day-long standoff between California Highway Patrol officers in riot gear and protesters. Thursday afternoon, another large group of protesters marched from a rally in Oakland’s Fruitvale District to the base, also known as Coast Guard Island, an artificial island in the Oakland Estuary between Oakland and Alameda.
U.S. officials told CBS News on Wednesday that the Trump administration planned to expand its nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration to the Bay Area, and that Border Patrol agents would stage at the base, located roughly 15 miles from San Francisco.
“DHS is targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens – including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists – in cities such as Portland, Chicago, Memphis and San Francisco,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said. “As it does every day, DHS law enforcement will enforce the laws of our nation.”
Later on Thursday, President Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that a planned deployment of federal agents to San Francisco was being called off following a conversation with Mayor Daniel Lurie and calls from tech leaders saying the city was making progress in addressing crime.
Despite the announcement from Mr. Trump, protesters remained outside the entrance to the base Thursday afternoon. Additional protests were planned in San Francisco and San Jose. It was not clear whether other Bay Area cities would see an increase in immigration enforcement.
Protesters began to arrive at Coast Guard Island around 6 a.m., blocking the entrance to the island. Shortly after 7 a.m., a CBS News Bay Area crew spotted a Coast Guard vehicle drive past the crowd and then fire flash bangs and smoke grenades to disperse the crowd.
CBS
At least two people were seen being detained at the site. One person appeared to be hit by a piece of shrapnel or a projectile, a minister who was part of a group of interfaith leaders protesting.
The minister, identified as Jorge Bautista, spoke to reporters after the incident.
“I obviously was shot with whatever that Border Patrol had,” said Bautista, who is a pastor at an Oakland church. “And I came to say we came in peace, and he didn’t care. There’s nothing else to say, he wanted to cause harm to me.”
“It’s clear that we’re here to be on the side of love,” Bautista added. “Because it is our responsibility to express love and be on the side of peace and to make sure that no families are being harassed and threatened with their lives.”
“They stopped at the crowd, and then got out and said they were going to drive through us if we didn’t move, they weren’t going to stop once they started, and they started pushing through,” said one Alameda resident who did not share her name. “They ran over one gentleman’s foot, another person got pushed off.”
“They have the right to come out here and walk around, so do I,” said one man wearing a MAGA hat who also did not share his name.
“We are not here to be violent, but if we are being aggressed, what do you do?” said Oakland resident Kendra Ferguson.
[ad_2]
Tim Fang
Source link